1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a protective cover.
2. Background of the Related Art
Patients who have an injury to a particular area, or site, on the body which requires a relatively long healing time and/or protection from external elements, or who have a medical condition which requires access to a port site for periodic administration of medication, often have difficulty protecting these sites from contamination or damage due to external influences. One such site may be a wound, perhaps requiring stitches or administration of topical medication under a sterile dressing to facilitate the healing process. However, exposure to external elements, such as, for example, water and detergents during bathing, is often detrimental to the healing process, even when the site is covered by a sterile dressing.
Another such site may be a port insertion site. Ports are often inserted into the body of a patient to facilitate the administration of fluid and/or drug therapy, as well as for the drawing of fluids, such as blood, from a patient. These ports may be left in place for extended periods of time so that medical personnel (and/or the patient) need only to access the port to administer fluids and/or draw samples, rather than relying on temporary methods, such as a needle and syringe, which may be uncomfortable and time consuming.
An example of one such body port is a peripheral intravenous central catheter (PICC). A PICC is a long, flexible tube that is inserted into a vein in a patient's arm and threaded up into a larger vein above the heart. Medications flowing into the PICC are mixed with and carried by the blood into the bloodstream. The PICC may be left in for extended periods of time for patients requiring repeated infusion type therapy. Although this arrangement facilitates the administration of fluid therapy when required, it also leaves the PICC exposed when not in use, leaving it vulnerable to damage and contamination. This can be particularly problematic when bathing, as the PICC may be exposed to water, detergents, and the like which may contaminate the PICC and cause infection at the entry site.
Additionally, many patients may feel self conscious with an exposed PICC. Ace bandages are sometimes wrapped and secured around the port site, but these are bulky and uncomfortable to wear, do not provide ready access to the port when required, are difficult to put on and secure with one hand, and do not provide effective protection against water and/or detergents when bathing. Stockinette-type webbing is also sometimes used, but its limited elasticity and web like structure prove uncomfortable and ill fitting, do not prevent disturbance of the PICC, and likewise do not provide any protection while bathing.
Still another such site may include a cast. While a cast is typically put in place to facilitate a proper setting and healing of a bone, and not necessarily to facilitate healing of an external wound, there are still many instances in which a cast may require protection against external effects, such as water and detergents during bathing, which can easily cause degradation of the structural integrity of the cast, cause infection to the skin beneath the cast, and ultimately affect the quality of healing.
The typical solution to the problem of protecting these sites (wounds, ports, casts, and the like) while bathing, whether the site is covered by a sterile dressing or not, is to extend a plastic bag over the site and secure the bag in place with a string, or perhaps an elastic band. However, there are numerous disadvantages associated with this type of system.
A relatively minimal external force applied to an unfitted bag secured by a string or elastic band may cause slippage or movement, thus possibly exposing the site and/or a sterile dressing covering the site, to damaging moisture and the like. Further, the integrity of the bag is unknown, thus possibly allowing water to seep into the dressing and/or the site through holes in the bag. The bag is unlikely to be sterile, allowing for contamination of the dressing and/or the site by something other than water while bathing. Further, an unfitted bag cannot provide any positive retention, and slippage/friction may cause further damage to the site. Additionally, if a site to be protected happens to be on a patient's arm, the closed end of the bag must necessarily also be fitted over the patient's hand, and the patient essentially loses the use of that hand while the bag is in place.
These types of protective measures do not provide a fast, efficient, effective moisture barrier, either to the site itself, or to a sterile dressing which may be covering the site. Moisture damage to a sterile dressing usually results in that moisture penetrating the dressing and contaminating the site it is supposed to protect. Moisture damage to the sterile dressing also requires that the dressing be changed in order to maintain a sterile environment around the site, resulting in added expense, time, and inconvenience to both the patient and the care provider.